Tayside Police have set up a new city centre community policing team to provide a more “visible and engaging” presence.
The new unit, established eight weeks ago, comprises one dedicated sergeant, one locality inspector and 12 local officers.
Chief Inspector Gary Ogilvie, Local Area Commander said that the move was part of a drive to enhance local policing in all areas of the city.
He said: “Local policing continues to be at the heart of what we do and we aim to strengthen our ties with the communities that we serve in our bid to keep people safe.
“As a policing service we are continually reviewing how to best use our resources and as such we identified opportunities to provide an improved collaborative approach to policing the city centre of Dundee.
“A part of that plan was to have a dedicated team of local community officers working with partners, residents and businesses within the city centre.
“These officers will provide a more visible and engaging police presence within the city centre of Dundee.”
He added that a range of local partners including Dundee City Council were consulted to continue the partnership across the city.
Dundee City Council community safety and public protection convener Councillor Alan Ross said he had been talking to senior officers for some time about the return of a City Centre policing team.
“This is a welcome development,” he said.
“I am sure it will have an immediate and positive impact in the lead-up to Christmas and beyond. We are all working to ensure that people in Dundee City Centre can enjoy themselves and be safe.”
Inspector Kerry Lynch added the city centre of Dundee should be considered as just as much of a community as any other area.
She said: “There are lots of people living within the city centre and we want to engage with them as much as other parts of the city.
“It’s not just at night time in the centre that we want to have a presence.”
The move comes soon after the DUNdee Co-ordinated Anticrime Network (DUNCAN) was set-up to tackle the significant amount of crime and disorder that takes place in the town centre.
It involves a partnership between Police Scotland, Dundee City Council, the Community Safety Partnership, Street Chaplains and city centre retailers.
